Captured Moments
by Lilysparkle2011
Summary: A collection of one-shots for the Titles Set Boot Camp Challenge.


Rough Hands

"Daddy?" Severus called out tentatively as he peeked his head around the side of his bedroom door out into the dark hallway, he blinked when he heard no response and considered scurrying back to the safety of his bed but forced himself to be brave and put one foot out onto the cold wooden floor of the hallway.

Severus's dark eyes scanned the dim corridor until they settled on his father's bedroom door, it was at the end of the corridor and was open a crack allowing a small amount of light to spill into the hallway but not enough to quell the young boy's fears of the 'monsters' that lurked in the shadows "D-Daddy" Severus repeated shakily, he could feel tears begin to fill his eyes and quickly ducked into his bedroom to retrieve a small stuffed, green crocodile which he had affectionately named 'Snappy'.

Snappy lay on his back in a dusty corner of his bedroom which was barely illuminated by the full moon outside, he had been abandoned barely two weeks prior when Severus had claimed that he was 'too old' to play with stuffed toys and left him at the corner of his wardrobe however when he entered the room, he knew exactly where to find him and picked him up with one small hand while brushing a small amount of dust away with the other.

Severus felt a warm sense of security, friendship and love wash over him as he cradled the small crocodile to his chest and took a deep breath before he reluctantly headed towards his open bedroom door, once again and slipped through the small crack into the hallway. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness before he forced his heavy feet to move towards the shadows, he cast his mind back to the weekend to take his mind off his worries and started to relay the event to Snappy.

* * *

"_Finish your breakfast, first" Tobias ordered quietly as he tried to fight back a smile at his son's enthusiasm, he had never been a fan of magic but it had become more and more difficult to ignore it, especially with Severus's natural talent and his love of it._

"_I'm not hungry" Severus answered automatically but his stomach seemed to disagree with a loud rumble which caused his father to raise an eyebrow and point towards his barely touched bowl with one long finger "Ugh" Severus muttered impatiently as he dunked his spoon into the bowl and reluctantly lifted a spoonful of cereal to his mouth "B-But-"Severus began to speak around a mouthful of cereal but stopped when Tobias lifted his finger and placed it on his lips, indicating for Severus to be quiet._

"_I understand that you are excited but it'll still be there when you finish eating" Tobias said sternly, he could remember the way that Severus's eyes had lit up when he had suggested doing something together, one magical activity and one normal or 'muggle' activity._

_It took Severus under five minutes to empty his cereal bowl and glass of orange juice, he quickly placed them in the sink and bounced around at the side of the table waiting for his daddy "All ready, Sev?" Tobias questioned smiling, he chuckled at the frantic nodding that he received in response before pushing himself up out of his chair and following his son upstairs to his bedroom._

"_So, what interests you about potions?" Tobias asked curiously as he carefully used a sharp knife to cut the caterpillar that was to be added to the currently bubbling cauldron, it was only a children's play potions set and was specially made to ensure that only harmless child-safe potions could be brewed inside it, the flame was entirely self-contained too and unable to burn anything, it didn't stop Tobias from worrying however that something could go wrong._

"_Um…" Severus muttered quietly in response, picking up a small wooden spoon and stirring the potion counter-clockwise "I don't know" Severus admitted shrugging as he gave his father a shy smile, he always found it amazing how ingredients could come together to make a potion especially when there was so many different potions "It's just really interesting, don't you think?" Severus questioned quietly, not taking his eyes off the simmering potion before gently turning down the heat and finally dragging his eyes away from the cauldron._

"_You are quite talented, son" Tobias replied carefully dodging the question, he didn't want to dampen his son's interest in potions simply because he didn't like magic and didn't see much of a point in brewing potions when there was perfectly good medicine that had already been discovered and tested._

"_Thanks" Severus muttered smiling as his hair feel across his slightly blushing cheeks, his father didn't give praise too often especially when it had something to do with magic but didn't doubt for a second that he truly meant it "You can put the caterpillar slices in now" Severus added quickly and giggled at Tobias's look of disgust as he used the knife to slide the pieces into the cauldron._

* * *

Severus quickly found himself outside his father's bedroom door, he glanced over his shoulder at the dark corridor and smiled when he realized that he had managed to cross the hallway that had frightened him, just moments earlier "Daddy?" Severus called out for the third time that early morning and gently pushed open the wooden door before stepping into the small bedroom.

Tobias was sitting on the bed with his head in his hands and a scrunched up letter in his right hand from his wife, she was supposed to be coming home in less than a week's time but had just sent him a letter by owl to tell him that she had decided to stay with her friends for slightly longer. It meant that he had to make his one meager wage for longer than he had first intended to, not to mention, he had to explain to Severus that his mother wouldn't be home as soon as he had hoped.

He had bonded over the weekend with Severus and felt much closer to his son although he knew that it was his fault that they hadn't been very close in the past, it had always been Severus and Eileen which Tobias had convinced himself that he didn't care about and had instead turned to alcohol after a hard day of working but he had begun to realize that nothing should be more important to him than Severus. It amazed him that the young boy could be so forgiving and open but he was glad that he was because it gave him the opportunity to try and make things better.

"Sev?" Tobias questioned in surprise as he glanced up at the doorway and saw his young son standing in the doorway, dressed in a pair of blue and white pyjamas which were slightly too big for him and swamped his small feet "What are you doing up? It's nearly two o'clock in the morning" Tobias added gently, he stood up and knelt down in front of Severus before lightly resting one of his large hands on his bony shoulder.

"I-uh-Snappy had a nightmare" Severus lied quickly, he didn't want to tell his daddy the truth about it because he didn't want him to think that he was a baby.

"Oh, I see" Tobias replied knowingly with a slow nod "Well, you did the right thing by coming to get me. It's not good to sit alone when you're scared" Tobias added carefully, he remembered Severus's declaration that he wasn't a baby which meant that he didn't want to play with stuffed toys and he thought that this might be another part of it "Do you want me to walk you back to bed and you can tell me about Snappy's nightmare?" Tobias offered gently, he didn't pretend to be a great father and just hoped that he was doing the right thing by reinforcing the idea that a stuffed crocodile could have a nightmare.

Severus nodded and rubbed his tired eyes with one small fist before instinctively reaching out his arms to be lifted up, it was something that his mummy always did when he was scared or needed reassurance and he assumed that his daddy would do the same. The note in Tobias's hand was quickly discarded underneath the bed before he pushed himself up onto his feet, then reached down to lift his young son (and his nightmare plagued stuffed crocodile) up into his arms.

Tobias adjusted Severus slightly and held him more securely before he smiled when he felt two small arms wrap themselves around his neck and felt his son's soft hair tickle his chin as he felt him rest his sleepy head on his strong shoulder. It took less than a minute to return Severus to his bedroom but he had latched onto his father's neck with a steel grip and refused to let go "C'mon Sev. You'll be fine, I promise" Tobias soothed gently as he rubbed his back and waited for him to feel safe enough to let go, he gently laid him down onto the bed when he released his grip before he tucked him in and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"M tired, daddy" Severus whispered sleepily as he buried his cheek into his pillow and wrapped one small hand in the tattered duvet which was topped with a thin green blanket.

"Close your eyes" Tobias replied gently, his calloused fingers carefully reaching over to move his black hair out of his face "I'll protect you. I promise" Tobias added quickly when he noticed his son's tired, yet wary eyes staring up at him, he didn't doubt that he possibly caused some of Severus's fears with the way that he had behaved to both him and Eileen in the past and only hoped that he could try to repair it. He relaxed slightly when the pale eyelids closed over the dark eyes and he felt his son's body relax as he continued to stroke his hair.

"You've got rough hands, daddy" Severus muttered sleepily with a smile, causing Tobias to chuckle and look momentarily at his calloused hands before turning his attention back to Severus.

"I love you, Severus" Tobias said quietly before he landed a soft kiss on the side of his head before silently pushing himself up onto his feet and walking towards the bedroom door "I'll make it better. You don't have anything to fear anymore" Tobias added in a whisper, he could feel his voice begin to crack near the end of the sentence and didn't even try to force back the tears that dripped down his cheeks before he left the silent room and walked down the hallway towards his own bedroom.


End file.
